What a start to 2008!

My mom gave me a daily calendar in my stocking based on "The Secret." All I know of "The Secret" is my daily calendar, but I think there is a book out there, too.

My reading today ends with. . "Begin right now to shout to the universe 'Life is easy! Life is so good! All good things come to me!" And they have!!!!!!!!!!!

January started out pretty hard for me. Paul had Patrick the first week and I was still on vacation from Tech, so I had plenty of time to be lonely. But that was also the week I got my gym membership. January 9 sucked because the divorce was final. January 10 sucked because it would have been our 4 year anniversary. But The Vice Chancellor kept shouting at the Universe. I guess my shouting paid off, because this week has been STELLAR. . . EXCEPTIONAL. . . WHAT I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. . .I got a promotion and a raise!!!! There really is something to be said about being truly validated by the people you work with and for. Not to mention the new 12-passenger van I ordered for my department came in today and we had a super secret surprise party for it unveiling.

And. . . as far as January's totals go. . . I hope I can continue on at this pace
20.71 hours
89.07 miles (I was at 50 miles in Dec)
10,033 calories
HELLO BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES!

I hope that you, my friends and loved ones, are shouting at the Universe, too. And praying to God. And believing in His Almighty Will.

Thought for the Day

I am re-reading "The Courage to Teach" as part of the Tech Faculty Book Club. I originally read it as part of my master's program and LOVED it. It's got all sorts of underlined passages and dog-earred pages and sticky notes sticking out of the sides of passages I really wanted to remember. I found this as I was reading this morning and it had new meaning, so I thought I'd share.

Remembering ourselves and our power can lead to revolution, but it requires more than recalling a few facts. Re-membering involves putting ourselves back together, recovering identity and integrity, reclaiming the wholeness of our lives.
p. 20 "The Courage to Teach" by Parker J. Palmer

My pick for Superbowl MVP

Tom Brady could not play one minute in the Superbowl and he would be my MVP. I actually called KKAMs Sports Talk the other day and shared this. I wasn't eligible to be entered into the drawing for predicting MVP because I didn't choose Tom the basis of his skill. Whatever. He's still MVP to me.

Josh update

I don't know who all I've told that Josh moved to Austin and is going to culinary school. He has been sharing all sorts of stuff he's been learning. Pretty interesting stuff. . . like did you know "sushi grade fish" means that it has to be frozen 24 hours before it's served raw? He's doing really well and we're all really proud of him.

from their website. . . Texas Culinary Academy and their Le Cordon Bleu program are located in Austin, Texas. The large and modern facility offers students a supportive environment to develop their creative culinary skills within the curriculum of the famous Le Cordon Bleu program.
Programs: The Academy's curriculum combines classical French cuisine with the inventiveness and innovations of American culinary arts. Our accelerated 15-month program takes you beyond just theory and practice and into the important world of hands-on experience. Students are introduced to over two-dozen foreign cuisines from many different cultures.

He is "volunteering" for Hudson's on the Bend 2 nights a week. http://www.hudsonsonthebend.com/main.php It's a really nice restaurant on Lake Travis. their menu is really creative. They have a very small staff and don't have any kitchen positions, so he is just volunteering to learn and to show the chef his desire to really work there.

He is working at Truluck's to actually pay the bills. http://www.trulucks.com/home.php Last night was his first night actually working and he expo'd - which meant he trayed up the food to get it ready to go out to the tables. He said he really enjoyed it and could do just that. He's excited to spend time in the kitchen.

Selections from "10 off-beat places to meet men" taken from msn.com

1. Your local hardware store - Maybe the painting and re-decorating will pay off in this dimension, too! I've been to get paint twice and nada. Or maybe the cute men are in the tool section and not the paint section.
If Flip This House has taught us anything, it’s this: Cute Homeowning Guys Do Their Own Renovations! (And save a bundle in the process.) Your neighborhood hardware joint is a hangout for not just handy condo-owning types, but all guys—even the ones whose last big project was the pig-shaped cutting board they made for Mom in eighth-grade shop class. "Being surrounded by tools brings out any man’s masculine side," explains Patrick Carone, an editor at Maxim magazine. "Added bonus—if you go alone, you’re pretty much letting him know you don’t have a man in your life." Ask for his advice on a DIY project ("Do I need special hooks to hang a giant mirror?"). Whatever you do, "don’t introduce yourself," advises Santagati. "Just go up and start talking as if you know him." Because now you do.

2. The driving range, early on Saturday afternoon - hmm. . . Maybe I need to ask for clubs for my birthday. Or hope that Patrick gets some. Now HE could get me some attention at a driving range. Especially since I know nothing about golf.
Used to be, you’d only find two types golfing: guys over 50, and guys who dress like they’re over 50. These days, though, it isn’t just your dad’s cardiologist teeing off: Cute non-prepped-out guys are hitting the links en masse. Don’t feel like killing 18 hours at an actual golf course? Luckily, hitting balls at the driving range is a quicker way to sink a Saturday night date. "At a driving range, you’re close to the other golfers, making it easy to fall into conversation," points out Carone. And when you go after lunch you’re more likely to find guys who just want to hit balls for fun (scary serious-golfer dudes show up at the range in the late afternoon, after they’ve finished their regular round of golf). How to spark something? Just ask the cutest golfer in the immediately vicinity if he can show you how to hold the club. "Voilà, he’s got his arms around you already," says Carone.

7. In line at the DMV - new last name means I need a new driver's license. I went this morning and I was the only one there. No men, but at least it was a quick errand.
At first thought, this doesn’t seem like the optimal place to meet your soul mate. Almost everyone’s cranky, the lighting is horrible and filling out 70 forms doesn’t leave you much time to flirt. But the DMV is actually a great place to guy hunt. Here’s why: If a man can stay good-natured and polite even though he has 800 people in front of him and just waited half-an-hour in the wrong line, he’s a good guy. Actually, lines in general are underrated: Eva Pereira, 31, met her husband, Ron, 33, buying coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts. He asked her if she was following him (she had parked next to him, then ended up behind him on line). This made her laugh. "We spent the next hour drinking our coffees and chatting," she says. "We’ve been together ever since."

8. The nearest bar to the sports arena after a big game - well this is a no-brainer. I just need to make sure I'm not scoping out a Tech student! Let me be more specific - Tech UNDERGRADUATE student. Grad student, Med student, Law student - perfectly acceptable - except most of them will be at home studying.
"Sometimes, numbers count," says Dr. Magids. "The more men you meet, the better shot you have of finding the one." Where can you be guaranteed to find guys in bulk? At the closest pub to your local sports arena. (It must be the closest one, because guys in search of a post-game beer don’t walk far). "This is a great place to find men in partying mode," says Dr. Magids. If their team won, you know they’ll be in a great mood. And if they lost, you’ll be a welcome distraction—just don’t say, "It’s only a game!"

Reasons I had a great MLK Day

1. Patrick slept in his big boy bed without too much coercion (see post below)
2. I walked 6.75 miles! Totalling 55.39 for the month with 10 days to go.
3. I painted the red stripe (an actual stripe, not the beer) in my bedroom. Cross your fingers that the tape comes off easily and doesn't rip off too much of the paint.
4. I painted the baseboards in my room.
5. I painted the baseboards in my kitchen.
6. Patrick running up to me at Jean's and yelling "Mommy! I missed you."

SUCCESS in the BIG BOY BED!

Patrick slept in his big boy bed last night! Paul's dad and step mom got Patrick a Leapster - they were in town in Arlington this past weekend. Paul told Paddy he could bring the Leapster to my house if he slept in his big boy bed. He told me the second I picked him up from Jean's that he was going to sleep in his big boy bed.

After his bath, I gave him the choice of watching one episode of Curious George or playing Leapster in bed while I took a shower - he choose Curious. When I was out of the shower, we read 2 books and then he climbed into bed. I tucked him in and reminded him that Spiderman (the doll and the ones on his sheets) and Jesus would protect him while he slept. He got one more book and got re-tucked in.

I went to get in bed. In a few minutes he came in and told me he didn't want to sleep with his covers and sheets only his soccer ball blanket (a fleece on my mom made him). I said okay.

In a few more minutes he came in to tell me he wanted another book. I said okay.

Then he came in again and told me got up to go potty all by himself and that he could tuck himself in again. And I said okay.

Then I didn't hear from him again. He woke up at 3am and called me. I went in there and he asked if he could come sleep on my floor. I said no because all the painting stuff (I am painting my walls YELLOW!) and he said okay and went back to sleep.

This morning he was SO EXCITED that he slept in there all by himself all night long. And so was I! Cross your fingers for another good night!

More hotties

Hmmh. I think I will add Luke to my list.

And how could I cut him from my list? Yeah, I'll keep him on there - just in case. And I'll add Mark Wahlberg, too. Yummy!


Big fan of those arms.

The Big Debate

Does Champ look like Payton Manning?
Voice your opinion.

Patrick's new room

Santa Claus surprised Patrick with a new BIG BOY BED and baseball stuff for his room. He's yet to sleep in it though. Since Paul's been gone, P has been sleeping with me because according to Patrick, "someone needed to sleep in Daddy's place." See how good he takes care of me? We are slowly moving towards sleeping in his bed. He says he is scared of the dark, even though Santa brought Spiderman sheets so that Spiderman can protect him. Last week he moved from my bed to a palate on my floor. Next week we are going to alternate between him sleeping on my floor and me sleeping on his. Back to the room. . . I love that the bed has an underdresser! We've been able to move a lot of his toys to there. I had the 2 Tech baseball jerseys - I got them when I worked in Athletics - and we just hung them on dowel rods. He LOVES to jump off his bed and walk along the sides with the help of the rail. Ah, boys. You can't see them, but I also hung glow-in-the-dark stars among the stenciled star border.


I painted the drawers and doors on his baby changing table and Mom found baseball knobs. The red and black wall hanging is a baby quilt my grandma made for Patrick as a baby gift. It has Tech fabric that she special ordered for him. And it's what we brought him home from the hospital in. I needed something to put on that wall and when I found it with all his other baby blankets, I KNEW it had to be hung up. Patrick is also sleeping on a quilt she gave me on his palate in my room. I told him that since he was sleeping on it Great-Grandma would be watching over him and sending him sweet dreams.
We found this gigantic baseball diamond rug online. Patrick likes to play baseball with his Ninja Turtles and have them run the bases. It's almost as big as his room. We also got a rug in the shape of a baseball that I didn't take a picture of. Say a prayer that Patrick eventually sleeps in his bed in his room.

More on my new room next week. My parents are helping me paint my bedroom this weekend. YELLOW! Happy, sunshiny YELLOW! I am totally taking advantage of weekends when Patrick is with Paul!

Christmas 2007 - better late than never

Some of these pictures require some more details. . .
Patrick calls my treadmill "the skinny" because that's where "I get skinny." We've always said that instead of "working out." His "skinny" is a stationary bicycle that plays video games. You have to pedal the bike to play the games. Pretty neat. I also am excited that HE is excited about exercising.
About the light sabres. . . all he wanted from Santa was a green light sabre. Every time he talked to Josh he told Josh that he was getting a green light sabre and Josh was going to get a red light sabre. So Uncle Josh got a red light sabre.
The marshmallow roast. . . Mom got Dad a fire pit last year for Cmas and we FINALLY got around to using it this Cmas. Patrick has so much fun roasting marshmallows and giving them to the dog. Nice. Dad got some Tuaca that we sipped by the fire, too. Mmmmm Tuaca.

A Funny Puke Story

I had no idea what to title this one. . .

Patrick puked before we went to Mass on Sunday. He coughed really hard, so I thought him getting sick might just have been a gag reflex. After the initial shock of getting sick, he was fine. Even asked for chocolate donuts for breakfast. Thinking he was fine, I gave them to him. So, we get ready and go to Mass. He was pretty tired and just wanted to be held during Mass. Halfway through Mass, right after the homily, we stood up to recite the Creed - Patrick pukes again. This time all over the front and back of my black sweater, all over his sweater and the pew. Chocolate donut puke. I heard the puke splash all over the pew. We always sit on the 2nd row, so I had to sprint to the back of the church, while holding him and having him puke on me instead of the church floor. We get into the restroom and he pukes more (which I realized on the way home we forgot to flush.) Diane Jackson - angel that she is - follows us to help me through the doors and to get paper towels to clean up the pew. Apparently, my dad followed Diane out. We took off Patrick's sweater - good thing he had a t-shirt on underneath. My dad had to walk back up and get my keys which were still in the pew. He met us back out in the foyer and carried Patrick to my car since I had puke all over me, and then went back into Mass. I still had to drive home and really didn't want to smell the chocolate donut puke any more or get it on my upholstery, so what did I do. . . I took off my sweater and drove home in my bra. I SURE DID! And not just any ol' bra - a leopard print bra. Patrick thought this was pretty funny. I hit almost every light on the way home, so I tried to stop in between cars so no one could directly see in the car. Nothing crazy happened on the way home, thank goodness. What would I have done if I was in an accident or gotten pulled over. He got sick one more time at my mom's house. And after a nap, woke up and insisted on having pancakes. I guess Doodah makes magic pancakes, because he didn't get sick again. What a Sunday!

Another Hottie Addition

Jerry O'Connell. Catholic- YES! Married to Rebecca Rominj- ug. THIS Jerry O'Connell.
Not THIS Jerry O'Connell.

23 minutes - new record for me

On Wednesday evenings, I am participating in an hour-long Trekking class at Premier. It's a group treadmill class where we alternate walking, speed walking, jogging, running and sprinting. I have NEVER let me emphasize NEVER been a runner. But last night I ran for every second of the 23 minutes we were supposed to run. Eric was the first person I called to tell him about my feat since he's the biggest runner I know. Well, I called my Dad first, but he didn't answer. Now I know I can do this. Burn fat cells, BURN!

Now with God's help I shall become myself. ~Kierkegaard

I haven't learned all I should even yet, but I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ saved me for and wants me to be.
~Phillippians 3:12

Yes, it's official. You can call me Britta Tye.

Hotties update

It's been a year since I've shared "my list," and there have been some updates.

I think I've decided to ditch Matthew Mc C for GEORGE EADS! Hello - bring this guy back to Raiderland! Yes, ladies, he's a Red Raider. I saw his birthday on one website and it was he was 41. I don't buy that. I keep trying to get my "science friends" to bring him in to endorse our TTU/HHMI Traveling Labs. I'm thinking if I'm persistent enough, it just might happen. HOW can you resist this smile????

I've always had a thing for John Corbett,too. Ever since Northern Exposure. I really like his long tresses, too.

George Clooney is still on the list. Always will be. Whats' up with that - 2 Georges. Hmm. . .

A Decree from the Vice Chancellor of SUNSHINE

I said to the man at the gate of the year
"GIVE ME A LIGHT THAT I MAY GO FORTH INTO THE UNKNOWN."
And the man replied
"PUT YOUR HAND INTO THE HAND OF GOD. THAT SHALL BE TO YOU BETTER THAN A LIGHT, SAFER THAN A KNOWN WAY."
a message from King Groege to his embattled people at the beginning of WWII